Table 1.
Occurrence of the hfp gene in different E. col i variants.a
| Variant | hfp+ | hfp- | % hfp+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| ExPEC (n = 67) | 39 | 28 | 58.2 |
| whereof UPEC (n = 42) | 33 | 9 | 78.6 |
| Faecal isolates (n = 39) | 15 | 24 | 38.5 |
| whereof known ECOR B2 (n = 11) | 5 | 6 | 45.5 |
| IPEC (n = 27) | 1 | 26 | 3.7 |
| Total (n = 133) | 55 | 78 | 41.4 |
a
The presence of the hfp gene was monitored in clinical isolates by PCR screening using primers Hfp-RT1 and Hfp-RT2. Extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) included uropathogenic E. coli isolates (n = 42), strains causing sepsis (n = 15) and newborn meningitis (n = 10); intestinal pathogenic E. coli (IPEC) included enterotoxigenic (n = 4), enterohaemorrhagic (n = 12), enteropathogenic (n = 4), enteroinvasive (n = 2) and enteroaggregative E. coli (n = 5).